Hefezopf (Striezel) Recipe

My friend Mariel and I decided to have a friendly Challah versus Hefezopf (Austrian: Striezel) bake-off this weekend. Challah versus Hefezopf / Striezel Challah (Hebrew for ‘loaf’) is a traditional leavened and plaited Jewish bread eaten on Sabbath and holidays. Striezel (in Austria) or Hefezopf (in Germany) is also a plaited yeast bread. What makes … Read more

Rye Bread Rolls Recipe – Austrian Schusterlaberl

Schusterlaberl (also Schusterloaberl or Schusterlaibchen) which translates as ‘shoemaker loaves’ are fragrant Austrian rye bread rolls and have always been a favourite of mine. The smell of these freshly baked rye rolls is mesmerising and brings back childhood memories of stepping into the village bakery (now unfortunately closed) in Gilgenberg. Rye Bread Rolls Recipe (Schusterlaberl) Full of nostalgic feelings, I’ve … Read more

100% Rye Bread Recipe Selection: The Best Pure Rye Bread Recipes

Rye flour is my favourite flour for bread baking. It produces breads with a rich and hearty taste, complex nutty flavours and a moist, dense and chewy texture. 100% pure rye breads are higher in fibre and lower in fat than wheat loaves and therefore have added health benefits. From a practical viewpoint, I also love … Read more

Parmesan Breadsticks Recipe

Guest post by Oonagh Thompson This recipe is an adaptation of Richard Bertinet’s olive, herb and Pecorino sticks from his brilliant book ‘Dough’. These parmesan breadsticks are deliciously bready and chewy, not the crunchy kind, and are perfect with a big pot of hummus or for dunking in some homemade soup. These moreish parmesan breadsticks … Read more

Quick pita bread recipe

It’s amazingly quick and easy to make great home-baked pita breads. Very few ingredients are needed to bake these lovely round/oval flatbreads and the delightful ‘pocket’ is simply created by steam puffing up the dough when exposed to a high temperature. Preparing the dough is very straightforward and you can choose to refrigerate part of … Read more

My First Sourdough Journey

Very proud of my first sourdough bread which I baked with my own starter. I followed the instructions of this Sourdough Companion post and after eight days of regular feeding, my sourdough starter became ‘active’ (it doubled in size within 24 hours) and was therefore ready for baking. I used a recipe from the book Rustikale … Read more

Vinschgerl Recipe – South Tyrolean Flatbreads

Vinschgerl (also sometimes Vintschgerl) are rustic palm-sized flatbreads which originate in South Tyrol. Blue fenugreek (Brotklee, Schabziger Klee, trigonella caerulea) adds a very distinctive, slightly spicy flavour to these delicious breads and the flat shape ensures that there is a lot of surface for the strong crust to form. Vinschgerl Recipe Ingredients – Makes 12 Vinschgerl … Read more

Walnut bread recipe in four variations

Having been home in Austria for Christmas, I brought back a big pack of shelled walnuts from the trees in my parents’ garden. A good time to experiment with walnut bread! Try my walnut bread recipe below – a sourdough walnut loaf using white wheat and wholegrain rye flour. My walnut bread is a slightly … Read more

Bread Shots (Homemade Canapés)

Looking for a delicious homemade canapé recipe or simply for a savoury snack? These bread shots (original recipe taken from a book by Richard Bertinet called “Dough“) are just what you are looking for! Bertinet’s bread shots are made of basic white yeast dough – little dough balls (smaller is better as it allows for a good … Read more

Christmas Bread Wreath Recipe

It’s nearly Christmas! Today I baked some beautiful Christmas bread wreaths inspired by Artisan Bread in Five. I’ve noted down this easy Christmas bread wreath recipe below. Try it – you’ll be rewarded with some very decorative festive breads. There are also some wonderfully adventurous Christmas bread and baking recipes in Trine Hahnemann’s beautifully presented book ‘Scandinavian … Read more